The psyche of Oḍiyā is greatly influenced by Buddhist religion, philosophy and culture since centuries. The two Oriya (Oḍiyā) merchants, Tapassu and Bhallika were made the first two disciples of Lord Buddha near Rajgṛha (Rajgir) as per the Buddhist sources like the Mahāvagga of the Vinaya Piṭaka. Both in Jātaka and the early Pāli texts, Kāliṅga features extensively. Aśoka became dharmāśoka, after the great Kāliṅga war (261 BC), embraced Buddhism in Kāliṅga and accepted Dharmarakṣita as his religious advisor. As found evident from the Ceylonese sources like Dāthāvanśa composed by the poet Dharmakīrti in AD 300, there were good cultural contacts between Orissa and Ceylon since long. During Aśoka's time, his youngest brother, Tissā remained in Kāliṅga and dedicated himself towards spreading Theravada Buddhism in that region.